Industrial waste gas streams from coal-fired power plants, cement plants, ore processing operations, and the like are a major source of atmospheric pollution. Of particular concern are components resulting from combustion of fossil fuels, which components include carbon dioxide; carbon monoxide; nitrogen oxides (NOx); sulfur oxides (SOx); sulfides; halides such as hydrogen chloride and hydrogen fluoride; particulate matter such as fly ash; metals including, but not limited to, arsenic, beryllium, boron, cadmium, chromium, cobalt, lead, manganese, mercury, molybdenum, selenium, strontium, thallium, and vanadium; organics such as hydrocarbons, dioxins, and polynuclear aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH); and radioactive materials.
Conventionally, components in such industrial waste gas streams are removed in a series of steps wherein each component is removed in a separate step, often in a separate unit. For example, to remove particulate matter such as fly ash, a dust collector such as an electrostatic precipitator (ESP) or fabric filter is used. To scrub gases such as NOx, a selective catalytic reduction (SCR) system is used. To scrub a gas such as SOx, a flue gas desulfurization (FGD) system is used. And to scrub CO2 from a waste gas stream, amine gas treating (e.g., gas sweetening using monoethanolamine (MEA), diethanolamine (DEA), or methyldiethanolamine (MDEA)) may be used. As such, the conventional multi-step, multi-unit approach to removing components from industrial waste gas streams requires multiple, sometimes costly, technologies and results in multiple product streams, each of which requires specialized handling.
Thus, conventional removal of components of industrial waste gas streams and handling materials derived therefrom is complex and may be expensive.